Movie Reviews

...but one star for the format

MEJ | Cowlesville, NY | 12/04/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I think this movie (story wise) is worth watching. However, I wish I had purchased a version with all scenes intact. This version is 79 minutes and the deleted scenes only about 5 minutes. I can't imagine why they felt it necessary to take out 5 minutes, especially because as I watched, it was obvious that scenes were being skipped. After watching the deleted scenes, things made more sense and I felt the movie would have flowed better had they been left in.

If you are prone to cry at sad movies this one will probably get to you. It's about three older well-to-do gentlemen that toss 3 wallets out their window on Christmas Eve to see if anyone is honest enough to bring them back. Two come back, one via a young woman; the other a young man and romance ensues. Sadly the trio that brought them together meet with a tragic death. However, they then become guardian angels of sorts to the young couple. I recommend this to those who like vintage movies but do also recommend watching the black and white version before the colorized. I found myself distracted by the added fake color. Make sure you get the 84 minute version though."

Touchingly just what you'd expect from the 40's

Reviewer | California | 11/05/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you like old-timey Christmas movies, this is a sweet one. The three old gents are as endearing as can be. Since Amazon's sight lacks a synopsis, I'll include one here:

A holiday gem released in 1940, this is a classic tale of three elderly gentlemen who foster the love of a young couple. Without families of their own to celebrate with on Christmas Eve, three rich businessmen (Harry Carrey, C. Aubrey Smith, and Charles Winninger) invite a kindergarten teacher (Jean Parker) and a rodeo performer (Richard Carlson) to share the holiday meal with them. Both of the young people had approached the men in an attempt to return a wallet they found, and they develop a friendship with their hosts while beginning to fall in love with each other. The three gentlemen are tragically killed in a plane crash, however, but return to their home in order to help the young people through the rough spots of their love. Becoming the couple's guardian angels, the ghosts guide their love to ensure that it will last forever in this charming and romantic holiday fantasy.

FYI, this was originally entitled "Beyond Tomorrow.""

Sentimental story that starts out on Christmas Eve...

Alan R. Holyoak | 12/14/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a little-known black and white movie that is, in many ways, a treasure. The story begins on Christmas Eve in a large city (NYC, I believe), with three elderly gentlemen business partners who prepare to spend Christmas Eve together. Alas...at the last minute the invited guests cancel. The three elderly men make a bet -- they take three gift wallets, placing a business card and $10 in each of them, and they toss the wallets out onto the street...just to see if anyone will return the wallet.Needless to say, from this humble beginning two kind souls return the wallets, friendships are built, and even romance ensues. The part I think is most interesting about the movie though, is that the story really does go "Beyond Tomorrow," following the elderly gentlemen and their opinions, interests, and concerns for their new friends, even beyond the grave -- in an uplifting way.This is an extremely enjoyable movie. I encourage you to give it a look, especially if you are tired of watching the same line-up of Christmas specials and movies. Top-notch holiday entertainment, though not quite in the same class as "It's a Wonderful Life" or "A Miracle on 34th Street"...both better known 5-star offerings.Merry Christmas!Alan Holyoak"

A wonderful, heart-warming film

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 04/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With spring, a young man's fancy turns to love - and so I sought out a romance to watch. Of course, being me, I chose a nontraditional sort of romance, one involving ghostly matchmakers. Since my own love life (or lack thereof) would seem to require some sort of supernatural intervention itself, Beyond Tomorrow seemed like a perfect choice. This 1940 classic is actually a Christmas movie, truth be told, but there's no harm in watching it whenever you like. After all, a failure to keep Christmas in your heart throughout the entire year leaves you vulnerable to nocturnal visits from the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

Beyond Tomorrow tells a simple but touching story. It all starts with three older gentlemen who share the same house and work together running an engineering firm. Chad (C. Aubrey Smith) and Michael (Charles Winninger) are all business, working late on Christmas Eve, while George (Harry Carey) enjoys Christmas as a jolly Irishman should. When he learns that his invited guests are unable to join him and his friends for Christmas Eve dinner, George forestalls the two old fogeys' idea of heading out to the club by inviting two strangers for dinner. Each of the men sticks ten dollars and his card in a new wallet, pitches it out onto the snowy sidewalk, and waits to see if fate (and an honest heart or two) will bring any good deed doers to their door. Two out of three ain't bad, as a young Texan (Richard Carlson) and a charming young teacher (Jean Parker) end up joining them for dinner. The two young folks quickly fall in love, spending many a happy hour in the company of their three unassuming benefactors over the following few weeks. Even as they make plans for a lifetime together, however, they lose their three good friends in an airplane crash. And so it is that Chad, Michael, and George return home in ghostly form. And it's a good thing they do, as the young lovers soon face some rocky times, as new-found success as a singer and the attentions of another fashionable young lady turn the young Texan's head.

I'm a little surprised this film isn't more widely known, as it really does tell a wonderful story. The love story itself actually pales in comparison to the lives (and deaths) of the three older gentlemen. George's two friends gradually lose their crusty edges by the time their personal calls from heaven come, but it is the warm-hearted George (who, even as a ghost, cares more about the young lovers' happiness than his own eternal rest) that really steals the show and makes this such a should-be Christmas classic. A powerful performance by the wonderful Maria Ouspenskaya adds further emotion to a truly heart-warming story."

Beyond anything I have ever seen for Christmas

Christmas Movie Buff | 01/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I liked most, that this movie was not a typical Christmas plot. Three men whom are stood up by their Christmas guest decide to make a bet. They each take a wallet with a $10.00 bill that were for gifts, and place a business card of their own inside of it. They open the window and through all the wallets out onto what is a typical busy sidewalk during the holiday season. They wanted to see if anyone would find and return the wallets. Then they would invite this person to join in a Christmas Dinner. Two of the wallets returned. One from a young man and the other a young women. It just so happens that both are away from home and family on this holiday season and accept the three mens offer of the Christmas Dinner. The group become great friends and spend all their time together, until a plane crash takes the lives of the 3 gentlemen whom had taken a business journey together. The three men's spirits return to the house where they had always gathered to share a cigar or brandy.Throughout the movie, one by one the heavens call and a loved one appears to show them the way to heaven. All except one man who fights to stay a little longer to help the young couple through some trying times. He sacrifices what is to be his one chance at going to the heavens above to stay behind and help the ones he loves through some trying times. The rest you have to see for yourself. One thing is sure, when it is my time to go I hope it is just like this movie - just beautiful."